


Make a choice

by killerweasel



Series: Make a Choice [1]
Category: Angel: the Series, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:36:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If given the choice, what would you do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make a choice

**Author's Note:**

> Lindsey wasn't a vampire in the series, but he is in this.

Title: Make a choice  
Fandom: _Sherlock/Angel_  
Characters: Lindsey McDonald, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes  
Word Count: 2140  
Rating: R  
A/N: AU after _Sherlock's 'The Great Game'_ and _Angel's 'City Of...'_  
Warnings: character death (sortof), descriptions of violence  
Summary: If given the choice, what would you do?

 

I had just finished getting dressed when my phone rang. I glanced at the number and then answered. “McDonald.”

“Mr. McDonald, I need you to get to my brother’s flat immediately. There’s been an incident.” The tone of his voice worried me. I don’t think I’d ever heard even the hint of fear from him before. “There’s a car waiting for you outside.”

I grabbed my jacket and started putting it on as I left my building. The car he’d mentioned was sitting by the curb with the engine running. I was barely inside when it took off, driving at speeds traffic was never supposed to go. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“My brother had been investigating a series of murders. He’d linked them back to Gregor Kurzka’s son.”

“Crap.” The car took a corner far too fast, slamming my body into the door. “He retaliated tonight.” I’d seen what Kurzka was capable of when someone pissed him off. There were so many pieces at the crime scene they’d never been able to tell exactly how many victims had been involved.

“Yes, he did.” The fear I’d heard before had been replaced by anger. “If any of his men are still breathing when you get there, use whatever means necessary to capture them. I want them alive.”

“Gotcha.” If anyone was still alive, they were going to wish they weren’t very soon. “What’s the status on your brother and his friend?”

“Unknown. Both of their mobiles are going directly to voicemail and Sherlock’s disabled the majority of my cameras again.”

I glanced out the window. “Mycroft, if either your brother or his friend is gravely injured...”

“You can give Doctor Watson a choice. My brother has no say in the matter.”

“Are you sure you want to do it that way? He won’t be the same afterwards.” The car began to slow. I got ready to jump out.

“You heard what I said, Mr. McDonald.” He hung up.

“Shit.” I took off towards the door. I’d only been in the place once before, but I remembered the layout. There was no sign of the landlady, but she might not have been home. She’d let me in the last time. She seemed really nice, reminded me of my grandmother. I hoped she’d managed to avoid this whole mess.

There were no police officers on the scene yet. I had to assume that was Mycroft’s doing. The only sound I could hear was my own footsteps. I didn’t even make it halfway up the stairs when I was hit by the overwhelming stench of blood and gunpowder. There was a body lying halfway out the door. He’d been shot in the back, trying to escape. Kurzka’s guys didn’t run. Something must have gone wrong.

I nudged the door open with my foot. “Damn.” The carnage inside was impressive. I could see the bodies of three more of Kurzka’s goons. Two of them had taken shots to the head. The third had made it halfway across the room before he’d been dropped in his tracks.

A noise from the direction of the kitchen made me pause. It came again and this time I thought I heard someone trying to call for help. I stepped around a fifth body. There was a large knife buried in his head. That was rather impressive. I was almost to the kitchen when I heard a groan of pain. Rounding the corner, I saw Sherlock lying unconscious on the floor. The doctor was leaning up against the stove, clutching his hands to his stomach. He looked up when he heard me.

“You’re not with them, are you?” His eyes shifted towards a gun on the floor. If he tried to grab for it, he would have to let go of the wound on his stomach.

“Mycroft sent me.” I crouched down to get a better look at Sherlock. He didn’t seem to be seriously injured. There was a rather large knot on the back of his head and a gash in his cheek. His pulse was strong and steady. “How bad are you, Doctor?”

“Bit not good.” He hissed in pain. “Most of this blood is mine.” As his hand slipped, I caught a glimpse of his insides. “He only sent you? Where are the police?”

“He chose me for a reason.” I leaned in closer. “You’re not going to make it, Doctor. I can smell death on you.”

“Stop calling me that. My name is John.” He stared at me for a moment. “What do you mean you can smell it?”

“I’m not human and I haven’t been for quite some time.” My face shifted, letting the inner demon come to the surface. John sucked in a breath. “I’m going to offer you a choice, John. You can say no and I’ll sit here and wait with you for the end. If you say yes, we’ll go from there.”

“Vampires aren’t real.” He scowled at me. “Figures Mycroft would send a bloody lunatic to come ‘help’ us.”

“I’m real, John. I was turned by one of my clients when I used to work for Wolfram and Hart. That’s a law firm out in Los Angeles. They have a considerable amount of evil clients of all varieties. The Senior Partners were old back when humans first started to walk on two legs and they’ll still be around after we’re gone.” I smiled at him, showing off my fangs. “You’re going to die tonight. If I help you, you’ll come back. It’s your choice.”

“Look at you, all sunshine and rainbows.” John laughed before looking serious. “Walk me through how it works and then I’ll decide.”

I sat down next to him, ignoring the blood that started soaking into my jeans. “I drain you until you’re on the brink of death. That won’t take long; you’re most of the way there already. Then I give you my blood and you drink. I’ll be as gentle as I can, try to keep it from hurting too much. Everything will start to fade. Your heart will stutter and slow and then it’ll stop. Usually takes about twenty-four hours for you to wake up again.”

John leaned against me. His body was barely warmer than my own. “Is that what happened to you?”

“Nah. I was over at my client’s house, waiting for him to sign a contract. He hadn’t been turned very long and when I accidentally sliced my hand open with a letter opener, the smell of the blood made him crazy. Next thing I knew he was panicking and asking me how a vampire was supposed to turn someone. I had to walk him through it. Next time I woke up, I was like this.” The firm had transferred me to the London branch shortly after that.

“How do you know Mycroft?” John’s eyes fluttered closed and the little color he’d had in his cheeks when I’d come in was almost gone now.

“One of my clients kidnapped him and was trying to hold him for ransom. I kicked the guy’s ass for being a moron. My bosses weren’t happy with me, but Mycroft was. We made a deal. If he helped me get out of my contract with Wolfram and Hart, I’d work for him whenever he needed someone with my special talents. So far, I can’t complain.” I nudged John. “Did you decide what you want to do?”

“I can’t leave Sherlock alone. He needs someone.” He sat up a little straighter. “Will I still be myself?”

I shrugged. “It depends. I’ve seen people go very dark and twisted. They let the demon have control and run amuck. Others are the same as they were when they died. There’s this whole theory that you need a soul to stay who you were, but I think that’s bullshit. I haven’t changed too much. I’ll help you remember yourself when you wake up. You’ll be okay.”

“You’ll explain it all to Sherlock later?”

“He’ll probably ask me a million questions, most of which I won’t know the answer for.” I reached out, giving John’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You ready?”

“Not really, but if I wait any longer, this isn’t going to happen.” He bit his lip. “What do you need me to do?”

“Just hold still. I’m going to bite your throat so you won’t have to let go of your stomach. When I tell you to, you need to drink. Okay?” I waited for him to nod before I leaned in. I ran my tongue along his throat, bringing the big vein to the surface. Then I sank my fangs into his flesh. He gasped, but didn’t jerk away.

I drank until I could feel his heart start to slow. Pulling away, I licked the blood from my lips before I tore a gash in my wrist with my fangs. “I need you to drink now, John.” I pressed my wrist to his mouth. At first he didn’t do anything. Then I could feel him start to drink. I kept my arm where it was until he’d had enough.

With a sigh, he slumped against me. “What’s your name?”

“Lindsey McDonald.” Sherlock was starting to stir. “We’ll be here when you wake up, John.” John had a smile on his face as the life faded from his body. There were things that needed to be done. The windows needed to be covered up and blood had to be ordered. But first, I needed to I needed to make a call.

He picked up on the first ring. “Kurzka’s men were dead when I got here. Sherlock got clonked on the head, but he’ll be okay. John made a choice. You need to send a clean-up crew for the five bodies and we’re going to need some blood for John.”

“I’ll make arrangements. Let me know if you need anything else.”

The phone went dead in my ear. I stayed where I was, watching Sherlock as he slowly regained consciousness. He touched the lump on his head, hissing under his breath. I saw him look around for John and he went statue still when he spotted the body of his friend. He stared at me for a moment. “You’re Mycroft’s vampire.” I nodded. “Did you... John... Is he coming back?”

“That’s what he wanted.” I let my face go back to normal. “We need to take care of some things before that happens. Help me take him to his room?”

Something crossed over Sherlock’s face before he slowly got to his feet. “John saved my life, you know. He wasn’t supposed to be here tonight. He was supposed to be out on a date. He was in his room when they came in. What he did was rather impressive. He killed them all, but it came at a price.”

“I’m willing to bet he would do it all again if given the chance.” Sherlock helped me carry John’s body to the bedroom. We laid him out on the bed. “If you clean him up, I’ll start making sure this place gets set up for a vampire. You’ve got quite a few windows that need to be dealt with.”

Sherlock left and came back with a bowl of water and a cloth. He started to gently clean the blood from John’s skin. “Tell me how this works. I want to know everything.”

“I’ll tell you as much as I know.” I draped a thick blanket over one of the windows. “For me, when I woke up, it was like being reborn. And in a way, you are. Everything is so much… more. It is brighter, sharper, louder, and scents are overwhelming. You feel like you’re drowning in sensations. But the worst of it is the hunger. You’re always hungry, always need to feed. You can drain three people and it might only slack your thirst for a few hours. Once you learn to control it though, that fades. It takes time.”

I finished the second window. “He might be different. Everyone comes out of this not quite the same as they were. I think he’s going to be fine. You’re here to help him with that.”

“You’re going to be here when he wakes up, right?” Sherlock set the bowl down. “You aren’t just going to leave?”

“I promised him we’d both be here.” I finished what I was doing and came back over to the bed. “Come on, we have to take care of the rest of the place.”

“Give me a few minutes.”

When I walked out of the room, I could hear Sherlock saying something to John. I pretended I couldn’t make out the words, but they still brought a smile to my face. Everything would be okay, I’d make sure of it.


End file.
